... but not do the actus reus. For example if an individual goes into a house with a knife intending to kill and stabs a person that is in bed but it was later discovered that the person had already died from a heart attack, even though the individual did not kill the person, the mens rea for murder was there; he intended to kill. Even though the actus reus was not there, (he didn't kill the person) he is still guilty of attempted murder. Murder and manslaughter The most serious crime is murder. The only difference between murder and manslaughter is the intention of the defendant. Murder is defined in section one of the Homicide Act (1957): 'Where a person of sound mind unlawfully kills any reasonable creature in being under the Queens peace with malice or aforethought, either express or implied'. This is the 'common law definition'. The actus reus of murder is the ...

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